Foldable-hood fittings of vehicles.



R. MEDLEY.

FOLDABLE HOOD FITTINGS 0F VEHICLES. APPLICATION FILED APR. 30. 1914.

1,154,527. PatentedSept. 21, 1915.-

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

\E w M 0 WWO] J/ R. MEDLEY.

FOLDABLE HOOD FITTINGSOF VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED APR.30, I914.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 WWW W7.

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ROBERT MEDLEY, OF MANCHESTER, ENGLAND.

roLnABLn-noon FITTINGS or VEHICLES.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

Application filed April 30, 1914. Serial No. 835,558. i

To all whom it may concern I Be it known that I, ROBERT MEDLEY, subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at 123 Nicolas road, Chorltoncum-Hardy, Manchester, in the county of Lancashire, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Foldable=Hood Fittings of Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to foldable hood fittings of vehicles such as cabriolets of the kind having a flexible foldable hood, and has distinct reference to the mounting and rearward projection, when the hood is opened, of, one of the hoop sticks'by' which the hood is supported above the foldable middle pillar.

In a vehicle aforesaid there is provided at each side of the body a forward'pillar, a middle pillar, a rear pillar, a window cantrail, and a door cant-rail, and extending across the vehicle from side to side to sup-- port the flexible folding hood are a number of hoop sticks which, when'the hood is opened, fold with the hood at the rear of the vehicle seat, and when the hood is closed support the hood both longitudinally and transversely of the vehicle from the side frames of the vehicle body.

The. invention is comprised in the hereinafter described and claimed combination of parts operating for carrying and rearwardly projecting the hoop stick of the middle pillar when the hood is opened, and for holding the hoop stick in position supporting the hood when the hood is closed.

The sheets of drawings herewith illustrate the invention in diagram to a suflicient extent to clearly understand what is hereinafter claimed, Figure 1 showing a side elevation with the hood closed, and Fig. 2 a similar side elevation with the hood partly opened.

The principal feature of the improvements is the construction and manner of operation of theopening and closing frame 9 supporting the middle hoop stick as from the middle pillar and cant-rails, and it is to be clearly understood that such a frame is oppositely applied at each side of the vehicle bod The rear pillar a swings at 0. from its lower end to fold rearwardly as usual, as also does the middle pillar 0, the hinge of this middle pillar for folding being at 0 on the body I) of the vehicle. The forward and door pillar is not shown in the drawings, but its cant-rail is indicated at (Z jointed at (Z to the summit of the middle pillar to swing upwardly. The window or rear cant-rail e is pivotedly connected to the upper ends of the pillars a and 0 to fold, when the hood to is opened, against the front of the rear pillar a, such pivoting being at a to the rear pillar, and at 0Z to the middle pillar.

The frame g is formed of four strong links f, g, 72,, and z alike in length and shape, and pivoted to each other at Z and m, to the summit of the middle pillar at (P, and to the end of the hoop stick'm at 02 This frame carries the end of the hoop stick and supports said-hoop stick from the middle pillar and from the tops of the cant-rails cl and e, and said frame expands and contracts during-the opening and closing of the hood, there being two contracted posi: tions of it, the one bringing the hoop stick end 00 close onto the summit of the middle pillar 0, as in Fig. 1, and the other projecting said hoop stick upwardly and rear wardly fromthe middle pillar to a position "at the rear of the seating accommodation of'the vehicle. The frame y only expands fully in the midway position between the two normal contracted positions of the hood at which time said frame y forms approximately a rectangle capable of closing to po sitions across each diagonal of the rectangle. Those ends of the links jointed to each other at Z and m rest upon the tops of the cant-- rails d and 6 when the hood is closed as shownin Fig. 1, and also work against said tops while the frame 7 is moving to open the hood, and also in part when closing the hood, but when the hood is fully open said links fold closely between the two cant-rails (Z and c. It is preferable to curve those ends of the links pivotedly connected to each other at Z and m, and to arrange these curved ends to cross each other in reversed manners as shown in the drawings, that is to say for the curved end of the link f to cross the curved end of the link it, and for the curved end of the link 9 to cross the curved end of the link 2', as thereby the links support each other transversely and give strength to the frame 1 and the outer links rest upon the top of the cant-rails when the hood is closed to receive the initial lifting action of the cant-rail (Z for carrying the hoop stick w upwardly and rearwardly.

The drawings clearly illustrate the ac tions of the links of the frame it will be seen in Fig. 1 that while-thehood is closed the upper two links rest upon the tops of the cant-rails one each side'the middle pillar, the frame 3 being contracted. To open the hood the forward cant-rail cl is swung up-r wardly as in manner represented :by Fig. 2: this upward swing firstly operates directly upon the, upper links so that there is no possibility of the frame becoming jammed and causes :the frame to commence to expand. The continuous upward swing of the cant-rail c'Z completes the expansion of the said frame and also contracts it across its opposite diagonal, and ultimately folds it between the twocan't-rails, with the hoop stick shot rearwardly behind the seating accommodation of the vehicle. a

The parts a, 0, and 1- form devices f0 forcibly breaking Lthe rule joint 8 of the stretcher bar 8 by the upward swing of the forward cant-rail d and form no part of the present invention.

Having now described my invention what I claim and desire-to secure Toy-Letters Patent is i 1. In foldable hood fittings of vehicles for the purpose of carrying and rearwardly projecting the hoop stick of the middle pillar, the combination with the middle pillar and forward and rearward cant-rails pivoted to -the middle pillar and foldable upon one another, of an opening and closing frame composed of a set of four links, two of said links forming the lower corner of said frame being pivoted to the summit of the middle pillar, the other two links forming the upper corner of the frame forward and rearward cant-railspivoted to the middle pillar and foldable upon one another, of anopening and closing frame composed of four links two of which are pivoted.

to the middle pillar and the other two of which are pivoted to the hoop stick, and each two of which are pivotally jointed to each other each side the middle pillar to cross each other at this point of pivoting in reverse manners, the jointed ends of the links resting loosely on the tops of the forward and rearward cant-rails respectively,

substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand inpresenoe of two subscribing witnesses. 1

7 ROBERT MEDLEY.

'Witnesses AND EW Bo'rtroMLnY, GEORGE BRowNsnLL.

COPiQS OfthiS patent may be obtained. .forfive eents;ea'ch,by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

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